1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a keyless coupling arrangement for sliding two parts together to form a single unit.
2. Description of Related Art
While the discussion hereinafter will make reference to construction equipment, such equipment is also referred to as demolition equipment, scrap handling equipment, and the like. The description of construction equipment is not intended to be restrictive of the equipment being referenced. Demolition equipment, such as heavy-duty metal cutting shears, plate shears, claws, hammers, buckets, grapples, and concrete crushers have been mounted on backhoes powered by hydraulic cylinders for a variety of jobs in the demolition field. This equipment provides for the efficient cutting and handling of scrap. For example, in the dismantling of an industrial building, metal scrap in the form of various diameter pipes, structural I-beams, channels, angles, sheet metal plates, and the like, must be efficiently severed and handled by heavy-duty metal shears. Such metal shears can also be utilized for reducing automobiles, truck frames, railroad cars, and the like. The shears must be able to move and cut the metal scrap pieces regardless of the size or shape of the individual scrap pieces and without any significant damage to the shears. In the demolition of an industrial building, concrete crushing devices, such as a concrete pulverizer or concrete cracker, are also used to reduce the structure to manageable components which can be easily handled and removed from the site. A grapple is often utilized where handling of debris or work pieces is the primary function of the equipment. Historically, all of these pieces of equipment represent distinct tools having significant independent capitol costs.
Each of these tools utilizes a jaw set pivotal about a pivot axis. Each of these jaw sets may be subjected to forces developed or generated on the magnitude of between less than 1 ton to more than 10,000 tons and, as a result, it is imperative that each of the jaws in the jaw set is fabricated, shaped, or cast to withstand such forces. However, certain jaw set designs may preferably require a portion of the jaw set to be disassembled in order to capture the pivot shaft between the lower jaw and the upper jaw. In the past, such a coupling arrangement was achieved by sliding the hub into the anvil and then inserting removable keys along the direction of insertion/removal to secure the anvil and the hub relative to one another. While this adequately secured the hub within the anvil, it is a relatively labor intense practice and, furthermore, the stress forces produced by this coupling tend to be concentrated within the keys such that there is not an equal stress distribution over the anvil and the hub.
A design is needed to slideably secure a hub within an anvil, whereby the design is relatively simple but, at the same time, eliminates the need for keys and provides effective redistribution of the stresses, such that localized forces are reduced and the stresses overall are more evenly distributed among the unified hub/anvil.